LANXESS successfully completes plant expansion for Macrolex dyes

Capacity increased by around 25 percent

Investment of more than five million euros contributes to site security

Cologne – Specialty chemicals company LANXESS has successfully completed the expansion of its Macrolex dyes production plant at the CHEMPARK Leverkusen. With an investment of more than EUR 5 million, the capacity was increased by around 25 percent. The expanded plant was officially put into operation at the beginning of May.

“By expanding the plant, we are responding to the increased global demand for high-quality dyes in the plastics industry,” says Philipp Junge, head of the LANXESS Rhein Chemie business unit (RCH).

“With the expanded capacity, we can now continue to grow, especially in sensitive application areas such as high-quality plastics packaging. Here, the solvent dyes under the Macrolex brand meet very high standards,” says Dominik Risse, Vice President Colorant Additives Business at RCH.

The investment is also a clear commitment to the Leverkusen site. “With the expansion of our colorants business at the CHEMPARK Leverkusen, we were able to create six additional jobs,” adds Dr. Axel Lache, Head of Production of Colorant Additives at RCH.

The soluble organic dyes marketed under the Macrolex brand are mainly used to color high-quality plastics products such as beverage bottles, electronic equipment, car tail lights and children’s toys.

The portfolio of LANXESS’s colorant additives business comprises a total of 150 products and, in addition to Macrolex dyes, other high-quality colorants for use in a wide range of demanding applications, from LCD screens to colorants for writing instruments. The business line supplies dyes and pigments to more than 800 customers worldwide.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis company release contains certain forward-looking statements, including assumptions, opinions, expectations and views of the company or cited from third party sources. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results, financial position, development or performance of LANXESS AG to differ materially from the estimations expressed or implied herein. LANXESS AG does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecast developments. No representation or warranty (expressed or implied) is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, any information, estimates, targets and opinions, contained herein, and no liability whatsoever is accepted as to any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein, and accordingly, no representative of LANXESS AG or any of its affiliated companies or any of such person's officers, directors or employees accept any liability whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the use of this document.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.2 billion in 2018. The company currently has about 15,400 employees in 33 countries and is represented at 60 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.

From left to right: Plant manager Axel Lache, member of the Board of Management and Labor Director Rainier van Roessel, Vice President of the Colorant Additives Business Dominik Risse and the head of the LANXESS Rhein Chemie business unit Philipp Junge inspect a new boiler of the expanded Macrolex production facility. Photo: LANXESS AG